6 Tips for Avoiding a Data Deluge With Real-Time Analytics Tools

While the prospect of real-time analytics tools is creating a serious buzz among business users, it's important to avoid a data deluge. Consider these tips for successful adoption of real-time business intelligence:

1. Chart a business-centric course. "This type of technology requires a business driver, not an IT-exclusive push," cautions Richard Tibbetts, CTO and cofounder of StreamBase. "Look for the business problem and who your business partner will be."

2. Develop detailed requirements. "We decided what goals we were going to achieve, how we'd measure them and what we'd need from the solution to meet our requirements," says Rob Perez, VP of trading and liquidity management systems at GAIN. "This helped us solidify what we really wanted."

3. Limit the scope. "With so many datasets, and unique identifiers within each dataset, know what needle you want to find in the haystack," advises Javier Paz, senior analyst with Aite Group. "It's not just about real-time monitoring; it's also about whether you can react to the data you're receiving."

5. Stay focused. "When people found out about the solution, some questioned limiting it to liquidity," Perez explains. "But it was important to stay focused, deploy quickly and then build out the solution to meet other needs."

6. Consider a staged rollout. If your situation requires multiple use cases for a real-time solution, break the overall implementation into smaller projects, suggests StreamBase's Tibbetts. "Start with a particular function or a related set of functions."